Parentification is a term refers to the situation of a family where the adolescents or the child takes the responsibility of the whole family at a very young age. Parentification is also known as adultification, spousification, role reversal, and many more. It occurs when, the parents create an environment in the family that fosters maturity and caretaking behaviour in their children at a very young age that help maintain stability for the family in general and the parent in particular. Usually, it happens when the child takes on parental responsibility at a very young age for their siblings and even for their parents. The parentified children are forced to ordained to presume adult responsibilities at a very early age. As child carer take on a giving rather that getting role.
There are two types of parentification; instrumental parentification and emotional parentification.
Instrumental parentification occurs when, the parentified child is forced to take all the household or work responsibilities for their siblings and even parents. The parentified child forcibly takes the responsibility of household activities and work outside as well.
Instrumental parentification may includes:
Taking the responsibility of siblings
Doing job for the maintenance of family
Paying household bills such as electricity bills, maintenance bills
Doing household activities
Emotional parentification occurs when, the child carer fulfills the emotional needs of their parents as they assume themselves as the mature and main member in their family. The responsibility of managing parent’s emotional and psychological need sometimes feel like a burden on the parentified child.
Emotional parentification may includes:
Engaging in fights between parents
Engaging in family conflicts
Helping the sibling in their studies
Resolving parent’s issues
Providing emotional support and comfort
Parentified child have so much unnecessary burden on their shoulders before they real the level the maturity. That creates a huge impact on their own life. Whether parentification effects on the child’s physical health, it also effects negatively on their mental health as well.
Some common symptoms of parentified child:
Depression and stress
Anxiety and panic attacks
Mental disorders
Self-blame, guilt
Antisocial behaviour
Aggression
Usually, parentification occurs when one/both the parents,
has alcohol or drug addiction
abuse mentally or physically
has mental illness
don’t have enough maturity and affection towards familyhas pique and estrangement among themselves
